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Jonathan Joestar, also known as JoJo, was an only child. His mother died in a carriage accident when he was young, so he grew up with his father, George Joestar, being his only family.
Well, there was eventually Dio Brando, Jonathan’s adoptive brother taken in by his father, but the blond man ended up murdering their father and rejecting his humanity to become a vampire, all when Jonathan and Dio were just 20 years old. After a complicated set of events that resulted in Jonathan burning his home down to stop the vampiric Dio, things somehow got even more complicated.
As he was resting in a hospital bed, a bunch of strangers he felt weirdly familiar with appeared to visit him. Their names were Joseph, Jotaro, Josuke, Giorno and Jolyne. When asked for their last names, the five dodged the question. All they said clearly is that they were distant relatives, something they proved with the star birthmark on the base of their neck that Jonathan had as well.
Jonathan could tell that something was off about the group, but it would be ungentlemanly for him to deny their kindness. Since he just thought he was the last Joestar alive, he could use their company anyway.
The 18 year old Joseph seems to very openly admire Jonathan and even Erina. The young Joestar wouldn’t call himself anything special, especially since he just lost everything, but he appreciates the teen’s respect. He just wishes that the boy would have less of a sailor mouth, but he’s not one to treat people worse over minor details like that.
The 17 year old Jotaro is, superficially, defined by the words “aloof delinquent” and frequently seems to get into arguments with Joseph specifically. However, Jonathan doesn’t just see the kind soul Jotaro possesses despite his demeanor, but also the slight pain in his eyes whenever their gazes meet. It seems to be an empathetic pain, as if the teenager is aware of some poor situation Jonathan is experiencing or has experienced. Something even worse than the death of his father, although he’s not sure what it could be.
The 16 year old Josuke is generally a delight to be around, his unwavering positivity and kindness only giving way to some awkwardness when around Joseph, for some reason. His hairstyle is quite odd, but when Jonathan complimented its uniqueness, the boy seemed very happy, so he has no reason to dwell on it any further.
The 15 year old Giorno appears rather disconnected from the others in the group. The only things he’s actively spoken on are questions he had about him and Dio. Each of those got Jotaro to subtly glare at him. Jonathan respectfully declined answering those questions both to avoid a fight between the two and since he as still mentally dealing with the effects Dio had on him.
The 19 year old Jolyne, the one closest in age to him, had him the most shocked. Her attire wasn’t necessarily skimpy, but the exposed midriff as well as her swearing more than the other four combined made her seem like quite the improper lady. Add to that that she is openly angry and snarky towards Jotaro at times, and Jonathan wonders if she even likes the group. However, he can tell that she too has kindness in her soul and love towards the others, her family, in her heart, so he can look past all the imperfections, just like with everyone else.
It’s what a gentleman would do, after all.
Eventually, Jonathan is let go by the hospital as most of his wounds are healed. His arm still needs some time, but his beloved Erina Pendleton would watch over him, so he has no fear that he’ll heal.
He is also happy that his five new friends are with him, although he can’t help but notice the continuous friction between certain group members. Regardless, they help him look through the burned down Joestar manor, looking for the stone mask that transformed Dio into a vampire.
“Only you and Speedwagon know what happened in there, right?” Joseph asks, as the group continues to find nothing. “So it probably wasn’t stolen.”
“Unless DIO’s still alive.” Jotaro mutters. “We didn’t find his corpse anywhere. What are the chances the bastard lived and took it?”
Jonathan sighs. “I’m afraid I can’t say. Only recently did I find out that vampires even exist, truth be told. I’m not sure just how durable one can be.” He makes sure that the bandage around his injured arm is still properly applied. “If we can’t find the mask, then let us hope it was crushed to pieces by the falling debris. That is all we can do right now.”
Josuke, who’s been eyeing his arm, seemingly twitching to do something about it, chimes in. “Sucks, but you got a point. If it’s just pieces now, we probably wouldn’t recognize it as a mask anyway.”
Shortly after the group decides to quit their search, Erina appears to give Jonathan a cane he happily accepts. While he takes a moment to talk to Erina, he can’t help but accidentally overhear Jolyne speak to Josuke. “Dude, chill out. We can’t use stands, at least not yet.”
Jonathan mentally chides himself for unintentionally eavesdropping, even though the girl’s failed attempt at whispering almost forced him to. Despite his curiosity, he won’t ask her about what this “stand” might be, as this information clearly wasn’t meant for him in the first place.
The group of seven decides to take a walk together to enjoy the fresh air as they come across a strange man sitting on a fence. After he walks around the fence and into the bushes, he suddenly appears on the opposite side of the road, eating a sandwich. Not long after, the man addresses Jonathan and Erina by their full names, jumps up and rams his pinky finger into Jonathan’s chest, pushing all the air out of his lungs and forcing him to adjust his breathing.
Erina chides the man for attacking an injured person and Jonathan’s distant relatives seem ready to actually attack him, but they all calm down when the young man reveals that the pain in his injured arm has vanished. When the man identifies himself as an ally called Baron Zeppeli, Joseph seems to pause for a moment, but says nothing.
Unfortunately for Jonathan, Dio is still alive. However, Zeppeli will teach him an ancient technique called Hamon specifically designed to fight vampires.
Wait, why does Joseph already seem to know it? And why are the other four still intending to join the fight if they can’t use it? Jonathan isn’t sure whether he should be wary of or concerned for his new friends. But, as long as they clearly have good intentions, he’ll assume the latter.
On a mountainside, Jonathan and his allies – his five fellow Joestars, Baron Zeppeli and Speedwagon – are facing Dio. Jotaro looks like he’s one second away from charging at the vampire himself, but Jonathan manages to convince him to let the hamon users handle the monster. Or, well, at least he thinks so for the moment.
Zeppeli tries to land a Hamon-infused punch, but is stopped by Dio freezing his arm. Josuke runs up to the two, for reasons Jonathan can’t begin to imagine. Still, the young Joestar also runs in and stops Dio from attacking his Hamon teacher.
As the two Hamon users are easily discarded by the vampire, something strange happens.
From Josuke comes a strange pink flash. As soon as it touches both Jonathan and Zeppeli, all their wounds are immediately healed.
“Josuke, what are you doing!? This wasn’t the plan!” Giorno speaks out.
“Screw the plan!” Josuke glares at Dio. “I’m sick of standing on the sidelines! Crazy Diamond!”
Jonathan once again sees a rough pink form come from Josuke. It’s very blurry, but he can make out that it’s humanoid and rapidly approaching the vampire. Although, for some reason, he can’t seem to see it, and a punch from it sends him flying.
“DORA!” Josuke exclaims.
“About time we do this.” Jotaro mutters to himself, right before he seemingly seems to teleport next to Dio. “Ora!” A purple figure emerges from him, also punching Dio. “ORAORAORAORAORA!” With a flurry of punches from the figure, the villain is once again sent flying.
Jonathan looks around to his other allies. Josuke and Jotaro seem to have some unexplainable ability to attack without moving, something he can barely even begin to comprehend. However, nobody seems to share his exact thought process. Giorno and Jolyne don’t seem surprised in the slightest while Zeppeli, Speedwagon and Joseph seem more fundamentally confused, even if the latter doesn’t show it.
Jonathan is the only one who sees those figures in this blurry state. He doesn’t know it, but Giorno and Jolyne see them perfectly while the others don’t see them at all.
Jolyne sighs. “Well, being normal was nice for a change. But I guess finishing Dio off will let us go back to that.” The girls suddenly unravels herself into strings to attack the group’s enemy from a distance.
Similarly, Giorno summons a tree out of nowhere, allowing him to also approach the battle. Although, unlike the rest of the group, he seems a lot more conflicted about his actions.
Despite the sudden surge of enemies, Dio quickly heals his wounds through vampiric regeneration and laughs. “JoJo!” He addresses his half-brother Jonathan, unaware that up to six people present respond to the nickname. “You said these were distant relatives, yes? I must say, their abilities are fascinating! It’s a shame that their efforts are useless, useless, useless! I, Dio, will destroy every last one of you Joestars!”
Suddenly, lasers shoot out of Dio’s eyes, surprising the targeted Jotaro and Jolyne. However, Jotaro vanishes from his position, once again seemingly teleporting, while Jolyne turns into more string to dodge the attack in time.
The woman yells. “The hell!? You never said he could do this shit, d- Jotaro!”
“Shut up! He didn’t do it last time… Star Platinum!” Jotaro speaks up, once again being next to Dio and summoning the purple figure. This time, Jonathan gets a better look at it as it becomes less blurry to him. It’s long hair blows in the wind, similar to the loincloth around its crotch. It’s strangely familiar to Jonathan, reminding him of Jotaro despite the lack of visible similarities. “ORA!” The figure throws more punches at Dio, who still can’t see it.
Baron Zeppeli smirks. “JoJo! I don’t quite understand what these abilities your relatives possess are, but I’m sure they’ll be valuable allies. Maybe your bloodline is a blessing to this earth!” Neither him nor Jonathan see it, but these words make Joseph smile sadly.
Regardless, the villain stands back up, his wounds healed. “Very good! Jotaro, that was your name, yes? Your whole family seems to have these fascinating abilities. Listen up! I’ll study this ability and make it my own! I, Dio, will be the most powerful being in the world once I have it.” He grins maniacally. “That, I promise. You’ll all look as laughable as you really are, Joestars!”
Jotaro groans. “Yare yare… Some things never change.”
“At least you already look laughable! Your clothes, the way you hold yourself… even your hairstyles are utter jokes!”
As Josuke suddenly goes berserk, Dio retreats from the battle, letting the zombie knights Tarkus and Bruford fight the heroes instead.
After a long and arduous battle against the two undead warriors, Zeppeli is forced to sacrifice himself to save Jonathan. The Hamon master is ripped in two halves and lies on the floor, starting to fade from this life. He gave his last Hamon to Jonathan, an act that made him rapidly age.
Joseph seems to panic all of a sudden. “Josuke, heal him already! Jotaro, keep his heart pumping!”
“J-Joseph?” Jonathan has never seen the young man this serious before.
Said young man pays him no mind, a first between the two. “Zeppeli, listen up! You can’t die here, Mario needs you! Caesar needs- will need you!”
Baron Zeppeli’s eyes flash of recognition at the name Mario, but less so Caesar. Still, he understands the message. “Young Joseph, I thank you for your concern towards my son, but I’m afraid this is my end.” His voice gets weak. “If I may ask for it, could you tell Mario about my passing? You seem to know him, after all.” He turns to Jonathan. “JoJo, come closer.”
Zeppeli and Jonathan have a short conversation afterwards about their bond, but the latter can’t help but think about the strange way Joseph is acting. Before, he pretended to never have heard the name Zeppeli, but now he directly knows the Baron’s son by name? He’ll need to think about this.
Once Josuke, Jotaro and even Giorno and Jolyne come to look at Zeppeli, despite Josuke reattaching his body parts, the group cannot revive him.
As the group leaves the battlefield, intending to head to the final battle against Dio, Jonathan and Speedwagon share questioning looks. Both can tell something is off about the extended Joestar family.
Right before entering Dio’s mansion, Jonathan decides to confront his “distant family”.
“I’d like to ask you something.” He turns around to face Joseph, Jotaro, Josuke, Giorno and Jolyne, with Speedwagon to his side. “You five are my last family, and I thank you all for being my friends and allies. However, as my allies… I ask that you start being more honest with me.”
Jotaro narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t wish to accuse you of anything, but… I’m no fool. I value you five a lot, so please tell me why you are actually here. You clearly know things you shouldn’t, like Mr. Zeppeli’s son’s name, and most of you have strange, near invisible abilities. Who are you exactly, my friends?”
The teenagers glance to each other, uncertainty in their eyes.
“Lads and lass, allow me to speak a few words.” Speedwagon clears his throat. “You lot have shown the same kind soul Mr. Joestar has, and I respect all of you for it! Just like him, I trust you from the depths of my heart, but this trust needs to be mutual if we wish to successfully defeat Dio! So please, do as he asks and tell us the truth about yourselves!”
Jotaro scoffs. “No-”
Joseph interjects with a grin. “Fine, can’t say no to that!” The points at Jotaro. “Next thing you’ll say is ‘The hell are you doing, Old Man!?’, isn’t it!?”
“The hell are you doing, Old Man!?” Jotaro pauses. “What-”
“Just shut up, this is embarrassing.” Jolyne groans.
Josuke blinks. “Wait, are we, like, actually doing this?”
Giorno shrugs. “Joseph started it. Might as well.” The blond boy looks Jonathan right in the eyes. “The abilities we possess – well, except for Joseph – are called Stands. They’re the manifestation of one’s fighting spirit and have unique powers. I can create life out of inanimate objects with my stand, Gold Experience. That’s our abilities explained, I’ll leave the information we shouldn’t have to one of you.” With a hum, the boy glances up to the balcony of the mansion.
Jolyne almost glares at him, but just sighs instead. “Well played, honestly. Not it, though.”
Joseph nods. “Not it.”
Jotaro grunts in agreement.
Josuke looks dumbfounded for a moment, but accepts his fate. “Alright, Jonathan, how do I put this… We’re from the future.”
Jonathan takes a moment to consider it. He’s seen a lot of weird things already, but time travel is a little far fetched. “Josuke, are you feeling alright?”
Jolyne snorts. “Oh, this is fucking gold. Sorry Jonathan, he’s not joking. He’s from 1999 and I’m from 2011. Long story short, we’re your descendants. Surprise!” Her tone is in a sweet spot between dryness and cheeriness.
Speedwagon speaks up. “You… How dare you insult Mr. Joestar’s and my trust in you like this! We ask you for the truth, not some fairy tale-”
Jonathan puts a hand on his shoulder. “Speedwagon, I appreciate it, but I believe them.”
“You do!?” Basically everyone except Giorno and Jotaro speaks in unison, although both of them also raise a curious brow.
“My father made it more than clear that he and I were the last Joestars, the last with the birthmark.” He pulls down his collar to show it. “You five have it too. Hearing that you are from the future is strange, but I have put my faith in your honesty.”
Joseph audibly sighs. “Oh, good, felt weird to call my grandpa by his first name.” Jonathan’s eyes start to widen as he realizes exactly how these teenagers descend from him. “I’m your grandson from 1939, Jotaro’s my grandson from 1989, Jolyne’s his daughter from 2012-”
“I’m Joseph’s bastard son from 1999.” Josuke interrupts him with a mild glare. “And Giorno is the second biggest reason after him that our family tree is a mess.”
The blond still looks at the balcony, framing it with his fingers. “Biologically, I’m Jonathan’s son. There’s nothing complicated about that.”
“You’re from 2001!”
As the group bickers, Jonathan thinks for a moment. Why would they travel back in time…? That’s when he remembers something. The pain that was in Jotaro’s eyes. “I will die soon after this battle, won’t I?” His tone leaves no room for doubt.
Jotaro pulls down his hat to avoid eye contact. “That’s not a question we should answer.”
Jonathan smiles solemnly. “Well, I’m glad to know I continue a proud lineage. But please… don’t try to change history. That’s all I ask.” He sighs. He too would love to go back and save his father’s or Zeppeli’s lives, but knows the dangers of living in the past.